Completed in June, 2017.

Duration: 5 minutes.

Dedicated to Steve Riendl and Paul Hanson, who commissioned the piece as a dedicatory work for their new house organ, Taylor & Boody’s Op. 73, in August 2017. Premiered by Tim Pyper.

Program Note

The title “New Ground” has a double meaning. On the dry, technical level, this piece includes an old-fashioned “ground” bass (a repeating harmonic progression) that has been made new – each chord overlaps slightly with the one that follows it, causing a blurring effect. On another level, the title “New Ground” suggests the birth of something new and exciting. When I was asked to write a short dedicatory piece for Steve Riendl and Paul Hanson’s new house organ (Taylor and Boody’s stunning Opus 73), I thought of the beautiful audacity of this act of creation: inspired by passion for music, and crafted out of wood and metal, a new, timeless musical instrument is born.